1978 Topps Bump Wills Just a Warmup Toss

You know all about the Bump Wills error card, right?

The one where Topps first showed him in a Texas Rangers uniform but with a Blue Jays banner underneath?

But then corrected that to get a Rangers-Rangers match?

Yeah, you remember all that because it was one of the early sets of variations that drove Error Card Mania in the 1980s and made Wills a “name” in the hobby despite a middling statistical profile after a solid rookie year in 1977 (except the stolen bases, which mostly kept coming).

But did you know that that 1979 Topps symphony of confusion was actually an encore?

Because, when Topps first issued their 1978 card of Wills, they really wanted us to see something in particular:

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That little circle of grass was super important, see, because … uh … would you believe that’s where the photographer had spotted the Great Gazoo moments before he snapped the pic?

And that the little green guy had promised to come right back?

Hmmm ….

Well, Topps must have lost faith in that theory, too, and took measures to keep an urban legend from sprouting …

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Today, neither one of these 1978 Topps — circle or non-circle — turn up on grading tables very often, but the selling prices of the ones that do paint a story about their relative availability.

To wit, the corrected (non-circle) sells for about $20 in graded PSA 9 form, while the Circle Wills hammers down for around $200 in the same condition.

Whichever version you come across, though, you can bet that there are Rangers and Blue Jays banners just out of frame, jockeying for position the next time around.